SHILLONG/ GUWAHATI: Governor Tathagata Roy will be on medical leave for two weeks and his Nagaland counterpart RN Ravi will take over as a substitute, said Pravin Bakshi, secretary to the governor.
A statement from the President on Monday said, “The President of India is pleased to appoint Shri RN Ravi, Governor of Nagaland, to discharge the functions of the Governor of Meghalaya, in addition to his own duties, during the absence on leave of Shri Tathagata Roy, Governor of Meghalaya.”
The development comes amid demand for Roy’s removal following a tweet about protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the state.
Ravi will be sworn in at Raj Bhavan at 12 noon on Tuesday.
This has come as a big relief for the ruling MDA, the opposition Congress and various social organisations.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the Centre knew better than anyone else and it “must have seen the drama that has happened in our state”.
“I am happy, we are happy from the government and we accept whatever arrangement has been made by the Home Ministry for the state,” he added.
The governor’s office and the MDA government have been engaged in a ‘tussle’ first over Roy’s rejection of Administrator’s Rule in the KHADC and second over the delay in giving assent to the amended Meghalaya Resident Safety and Security Bill that the state cabinet had approved in the form of an ordinance.
Senior Congress leader Ampareen Lyngdoh said “we are very delighted” because the governor “went on and on being very undemocratic”.
“He was being very authoritarian and I am happy that we will have a new governor who will be taking charge and sworn in tomorrow (Tuesday),” she added.
The pressure groups also welcomed the move with chairperson of Confederation of Meghalaya Social Organisations Robert June Kharjahrin saying, “It is a good move because people here in Meghalaya were very angry against the Governor. It is not that because we hate him but for the careless statements he made which goes against the sentiments of the people of the state and the NE.”
Donald Thabah, the general secretary of the Khasi Students’ Union, insisted that Roy should be removed from the governor’s office.
Referring to Roy’s tweet, which had said democracy is divisive and those “who do not want can go to North Korea”, Thabah said it was childish and “we want the GoI to remove him”.
Kharjahrin echoed him saying, “I hope his long leave will remain forever.”
The KSU leader also had a message for Ravi. He said the people of Meghalaya are against the CAA and want ILP and “it will be nice of him to play his role as a governor and ensure that ILP is implemented and the state is exempted from CAA and also give his assent to the ordinance”.
The Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) also welcomed the move to “temporarily remove” the governor but the party too wants a permanent decision.
“We have been informed that he has been temporarily removed and we welcome the move. But he has to be removed from the post permanently. We want a new, full-fledged Governor in the state,” KHNAM spokesperson Thomas Passah told The Shillong Times on Monday.
“As it is, he has been in the thick of things for his controversial statements and anti-tribal stance, which have only added fuel to the fire in a very short period of time. By making such statements, he has involved in anti-Constitutional activity. He is supposed to be the custodian of the Constitution of India but acting more like a spokesperson for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS),” he added.
Passah pointed out that the party had been pointing out the governor’s delay in giving assent to the Act and demanding inner line permit for a long time.
“We also urge the other political parties to stick to the ILP demand (for now) and not just talk about going to Delhi to push for exemption of Meghalaya from the ambit of CAA. At the same time, we appeal to all stakeholders in the state to maintain peace while taking the democratic agitation against CAA forward,” the KHNAM leader said.
